Several varieties of electrical connectors are known in which the contact sections of a plurality of contacts of the connector are arrayed in rows and columns along the mating face, and optionally along another interconnection face such as a board-mounting face. In one such connector as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,236, several contacts include socket contact sections aligned in a column of the mating face and include right-angle rear portions along the connector's board-mounting face for connection to an array of through-holes of a circuit board to which the connector is to be mounted. The contacts are initially stamped and formed in lead frame form and then insulative material is molded to body sections of the contacts while the contacts are joined to a carrier strip, after which the joints of the contacts to the carrier strip are severed to separate the contacts. The unit thus formed is easily assembled along an assembly face of a housing opposite the mating face, along with a plurality of other such units to define the connector. In a similar connector disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,183, a shield member is affixed to one side of the contact unit prior to being affixed to the housing.
It is desired to provide a compact multi-contact connector with simplified assembly.
It is further desired to provide a method of forming multi-contact units for insertion into a housing such that the contacts of the units are multi-functional.
It is also desired to provide a compact high-density connector.